3344 Blog 5

Debate

For me the most challenging part of the debate was, trying not to interrupt the other team when they were giving their rebuttal. I wanted to immediately counter their exclamation without letting them finish. I wanted to be right. When the point of the debate was to view all sides and determine who's argument was stronger. It was not about who was right or wrong.

During the debate I used critical listening and efferent listening. I was critically listening to the other team as they stated there three reasons why their candy bar was better and I used efferent listening skills when I was taking notes on those points in order to think about our counter response. Our group used critical listening skills when we were trying to come up with our ideas for Hersey kisses. We all listened carefully to each other and to all of the different ideas and then organized them. It was interesting trying to get 10 or 12 people to agree on three main points.

Choice Words

"Did anyone notice?"

This question is the one I found most important. It helps children notice the world around them at home, in school and at play. It also helps to start conversation. Especially with younger kids, but it works well with high schoolers. Children learn by asking questions and it is our job as responsible adults to encourage questions (I know it's hard after you've answered the same one a million times, but try to grin and bear it). You want them to notice new and different things and to have questions about what they've seen. At home go for walks with your kids, if you are a parent, and talk about what you see. "Look at that tree, did you NOTICE the flowers have started to bloom? What do you think that means?" In school as a teacher, you want to bring that same curiosity into the classroom. You want them to engage in stories and to notice different words, similar ones, different styles of writings and much more. This can be done easily by asking the right questions. "Did anyone NOTICE any interesting words?" "....any words that are alike?" "....any new punctuation?" Asking children to notice the world doesn't stop in the classroom. Take every opportunity to teach this means recess too. The best way to get students to learn is to have fun with it. They don't realize they are learning to them, they are just having fun. When you are at the playground, ask them questions concerning the weather. "Did anyone notice the wind today?" "Did anyone NOTICE how blue the sky is?" The world is lacking in creativity and you never know asking children to NOTICE the world my one day inspire them to do great things!